Daniel Sidney Warner (June 25, 1842 – December 12, 1895) was an American church reformer and one of the founders of the Church of God (Anderson) and other similar church groups in the holiness movement. He called for evangelism, the preaching of entire sanctification, and the unity of Christians.
Warner taught the Restorationist concept of restoring the Church to New Testament practice. He is also known for some of his songs which other church groups have incorporated into their hymnody. He is mostly known by only the initials of his given and middle name, D. S. Warner, which was typical for his time period.
Biography
Early years Daniel Sidney Warner was born June 25, 1842, in Bristol (now Marshallville), Ohio, to David and Leah Warner. His father ran a tavern at the time of his birth and later was known for his drinking, but his mother, of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, is recorded by Warner to have been more virtuous.Warner, D.S., Journal, July 18, 1876. He was the fifth of six children. His speaking abilities were noted even in his youth, when he would occasionally give political speeches in his home area. During the American Civil War, Warner volunteered to serve as a private for the Union to replace his brother, Joseph Warner, who had been drafted, since Joseph had a family.
Early Christian life Warner became a Christian in February 1865, at the age of 23. He attended Oberlin College for a short while and taught in the public schools. On Easter Sunday of 1867, Warner preached his first sermon in a Methodist Episcopal meeting using Acts 13:18 as his text.Warner, D. S., Journal, April 27, 1873.
In September of the same year, he married Tamzen Ann Kerr and in October was licensed to preach by the Winebrennerian Church of God. In May 1872, Tamzen Warner died after the birth of their still-born triplets. She had already borne a son who died at birth.
Warner was an effective evangelist in the Winebrennerian church (over 700 people responded to his altar calls during the first decade of his ministryWarner, D. S., Journal, July 6, 1877.), preaching throughout northwest Ohio and northern Indiana for about six years. He was then assigned a mission post in Nebraska for two years, a work to which he gave himself wholeheartedly, even if it meant long, lonely spells of absence from his wife, Sarah Keller, whom he had married on June 4, 1874.Morrison and Allison, pp. 27-28.
Holiness movement He returned to Ohio, and on July 7, 1877, he claimed to have experienced entire sanctification and aligned himself with the holiness movement. Earlier in his life, he had rejected the behavior of the holiness movement, writing of a certain meeting: "Nearly all blew loudly the horn of sanctification but manifested little of its fruits..." However, through the influence of his in-laws, he began to think favorably of the growing holiness movement. It would ultimately give the course of his life a new direction.
On September 15, 1877, the first charges of associating with the holiness movement were brought against him by the Winebrennerian Church of God, which were sustained shortly thereafter by a church trial. His license to preach was renewed on the condition that he would not bring "holiness" workers in to hold meetings in the Churches of God (Winebrennerian) without their consent.
On December 8 of the same year, he consecrated himself to God to be an evangelist in the growing movement. On December 13, 1877, his diary entry contains his Covenant with God: “Amen, LORD. I am yours, forever. Fill me with Your presence, now. LORD, reveal Yourself in me. At Your feet I humbly bow to receive the holy seal.”
On January 30, 1878, he was expelled from the West Ohio Eldership of the Church of God (Winebrennerian) on three counts: 1) transcending the restrictions of the Eldership 2) violating rules of cooperation, 3) participating in dividing the church. In his own eyes, Warner felt he was expelled for espousing and preaching entire sanctification. After his expulsion, he sought fellowship with various groups, including some Mennonites and the Salvation Army.
Even this time of fruitful ministry was marred by personal sorrow. His three-year-old daughter, Levilla Modest, died of meningitis in June 1878, the fifth child that Warner was forced to bury.
New movement The Winebrennerian Church of God eventually suffered a division over the issue of membership in secret societies. Coming into contact with the side that opposed membership in these societies (Northern Indiana Eldership of the Church of God, which also was more open to holiness teachings), Warner joined with them. But not long after, in October, 1881, he separated from this group at its Eldership meeting at Beaver Dam, Indiana, when the elders rejected some proposals made by him. Five other persons "took a stand" with Warner and they formed the first congregation of the new movement.
Also in October 1881, Joseph C. and Allie R. Fisher, along with about eighteen others, separated from the Northern Michigan Eldership of the Church of God (Winebrennerian) at Carson City, Michigan, forming the second congregation. These congregations were the culmination of Warner's desire for non-sectarian Holiness congregations, of which he had dreamed since January 31, 1878, when he noted in his diary: "On the 31st of last January the Lord showed me that holiness could never prosper upon sectarian soil encumbered by human creeds and party names, and he gave me a new commission to join holiness and all truth together and build up the apostolic church of the living God. Praise His name! I will obey him."
On April 22, 1881, Warner "came out" of all holiness associations, saying, "We were positively denied membership [in any holiness association] on the ground of not adhering to any sect. And now we wish to announce to all that we wish to cooperate with all Christians, as such, in saving souls—but forever withdraw from all organisms that uphold and endorse sects and denominations in the body of Christ." "Anti-sectarianism" would become a watchword for his followers for many years afterward. His detractors would call his movement the "come-outers".This was in reference to coming out of the "Babylon" of sectarianism. Warner and his associates often cited 2 Corinthians 6:17 as God's call to separate themselves from sects: "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord ..."
Personal grief During 1890, Sarah Warner divorced D. S. Warner. They had lived separately since 1884. The issues surrounding their separation remain somewhat clouded, but when she filed for divorce, she claimed that Daniel was not supporting her financially.Daniel Warner and the Paradox of Religious Democracy in 19th Century America, Thomas A. Fudge, Lewiston, New York, Edwin Mellen Press, 1998 Three months after the separation, she turned over custody of Sidney, the only child of Daniel Warner to survive past childhood, to Daniel. Later, she remarried. In 1893, she died of typhoid fever at Cincinnati, Ohio. Believing it wrong to remarry as long as he had a living spouse, Daniel did not remarry until Sarah had died. A few months after her death, he was united in marriage to Frances Miller, his third and last wife.
Publishing ventures On March 11, 1879, Warner became half owner and joint editor with I. W. Lowman of the Herald of Gospel Freedom. The following year, he was given complete charge of this publication. During 1880, D. S. Warner published his first book, Bible Proofs of the Second Work of Grace. In the minds of early Church of God leaders, this action signified the beginning of the Church of God Reformation movement. The following year, the Herald of Gospel Freedom was consolidated with The Pilgrim (published in Indianapolis, Indiana by G. Haines) to become the Gospel Trumpet. This publication would continue for many decades after his death as the official publication of the movement which was just now gaining momentum. (The Gospel Trumpet was renamed Vital Christianity in 1962 and ceased publication in 1996.)
Under Warner, the first two issues of the Gospel Trumpet were published in Rome City, Indiana. But Warner moved his printing equipment to Indianapolis early in 1881. In June 1881, G. Haines dissolved the partnership with Warner and started an opposition holiness paper. J. C. Fisher then joined D. S. Warner as partner in the Gospel Trumpet. Fisher's name disappeared from the paper's masthead in early 1887 after he divorced his wife and married a divorcee named Alice Davis.
On June 21, 1887, at the request of Warner, Enoch E. Byrum purchased Fisher's share of the Gospel Trumpet and became its publisher and business manager. Byrum would edit this paper for nearly twenty years after the death of Warner. (In several letters and editorials, Warner held out the hope that Fisher would reconcile with his ex-wife and return to the movement, but he did not.)
Evangelistic efforts In the fall of 1884, Warner conducted revival tours and preached at camp meetings in the midwestern United States. He formed an evangelistic preaching company in the summer of 1886 with members including Nannie Kiger of Payne, Ohio; Frances Miller (his later wife) of Battle Creek, Michigan; Sarah Smith of Jerry City, Ohio; John U. Bryant and David Leininger of Beaver Dam, Indiana; and Barney E. Warren of Lacota, Michigan.
From June 1887 to April 1888, Warner conducted an evangelistic tour in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. During the same summer, he preached at camp meetings in Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The following winter, he conducted an evangelistic tour in Ontario, Canada.
In the winter of 1890, Warner conducted a southern evangelistic tour in Mississippi and Alabama. His evangelistic company dissolved after this tour.
During 1891, he conducted evangelistic tours in Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada. In August 1892 to February 1893, he conducted an evangelistic tour as far as California.
Final years In January through February 1894, Warner helped with an evangelistic tour down the Ohio River on a refloated barge known as the Floating Bethel. On December 1, 1895, Daniel Sidney Warner preached his last sermon on Sunday morning at the Gospel Trumpet Office in Grand Junction, Michigan. The topic of his sermon was Christian growth.
E. E. Byrum and his brother Noah Byrum purchased the remaining publishing business interests of Allie R. Fisher and a local lumberman named Sebastian Michels. Two days before Warner's death, he and the Byrum brothers signed papers conveying their rights to a nonprofit corporation named the Gospel Trumpet Publishing Company (now Warner Press, Inc., located in Anderson, Indiana).
Warner died on December 12, 1895, and was buried at Warner Camp in Grand Junction.
Personal interests Warner wrote many poems and songs. Most of his song lyrics were set to music by others, chiefly Barney E. Warren. His strong admiration for the beauty of nature revealed itself in his poetry.
Warner was interested in health foods such as graham flour and he resolved to incorporate these foods into his diet. He wrote in one of his field reports to the Gospel Trumpet, "One thing we much regret that there is not more wisdom among the saints respecting healthy diet. Laboring in five counties in Ind. and two in Mich., we have not found a single family that did not have pork on their table about every meal. In fact we do not recollect a single meal without pork. Now this is a very unhealthy food ... Another great pity is the common use of white bread. O that God may keep His saints from thus wasting the precious wheat He gives us. Warner also studied and lectured occasionally on phrenology, which attempted to determine one's personality traits and acumen by measuring the size and shape of that person's head.
Doctrines and beliefs